FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Earl Martin Phalen
June 18, 2014
emphalen@summeradvantage.org
(617) 818-1959
Indianapolis, INDIANA – A leading Indianapolis-based civic group has named the George and Veronica Phalen Leadership Academies (PLA), a network of high-performing charter schools that will serve over 10,000 children annually in Indiana, as the top nonprofit organization among five finalists in its grant award program dedicated to helping prepare students for academic success.
The selection by the Junior League of Indianapolis comes with a grant award of $25,000, which will be used by PLA to bring one of the nation’s few research-based summer learning programs, called Summer Advantage USA, to its students this summer. The Junior League of Indianapolis is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.
“The Junior League’s commitment to volunteerism and philanthropy throughout Indiana is just outstanding, and we are so honored to be awarded their lead grant,” said Earl Martin Phalen, Founder and CEO of PLA.
“Summer is an incredibly important time in a child’s development, when students who don’t have the opportunity to participate in summer learning often lose months of academic skills and even go hungry,” added Jeremy Baugh, Founding Principal at Phalen Leadership Academy. “This grant will help ensure that this summer, our scholars thrive.”
The Summer Advantage program engages students each week in a healthy breakfast and group meeting; rigorous morning academics taught by the best teachers; a healthy lunch and recess; afternoon enrichment through citizenship education, art, STEM activities, and sports; and Fun Fridays, in which scholars take field trips to important cultural sites, explore careers with talks from practicing professionals in the community, and learn about higher education at local colleges and universities. Rather than lose two months of academic skills in what is called “summer learning loss,” as most low-income children who do not have access to high-quality summer learning opportunities do during the summer, Summer Advantage scholars gain over two months of reading and math skills during the program.
The Junior League of Indianapolis is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Learn more about the Junior League at http://www.jlindy.org/
Recognized by TIME, Parents Magazine, and MSNBC, Summer Advantage USA is one of the nation's few research based summer learning programs that works with school districts and students to increase academic performance. Over the past four years, Summer Advantage USA has engaged over 15,000 students in summer learning. Visit Summer Advantage on the web at http://summeradvantage.org/
The George and Veronica Phalen Leadership Academies (PLA) is a new and innovative network of blended learning charter schools in Indiana. PLA was awarded an unprecedented opportunity to open 10 charter schools that will ultimately annually serve 10,000 children in grades K-8. Connect with Phalen Leadership Academies on the web at http://phalenacademies.org/